Íos

After our dinner out in Pároikía two of us eventually surfaced in the morning for the planned sail down to Íos. Sailing with the wind over our shoulder made for a quick passage and having left Pároikía at 0915 we moored up in Íos just after lunch having covered 32 miles.

We had managed to nip into the harbour just ahead of 3 other yachts and were very glad that we had as it meant that we were able to moor in one of the last free places on the eastern quay. Above us was the chora which helped to make it very scenic.

Where we were moored, the shelter was reasonable and the only issue was wash from the many visiting ferries. On the southern quay, a little further out, however, the yachts were much more exposed to the wind. Our spot on the quay was definitely the place to be. However, despite having dropped our anchor well out from a known (and marked) large chain on the seabed, the markings on our anchor chain suggested that we may have snagged the obstruction. We were rather confused by this but we decided to stay put and deal with any issue when it came to leaving the harbour.

Íos is a lively party destination and so around the port there was a constant flow of young sun worshippers arriving for their holiday. The bars and nightlife mainly happens up in the chora and so we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were largely undisturbed by noise.

High above us on the peak are a couple of chapels and it is a great vantage point to watch the sunset and get a good view down over the harbour.

To make sure that we didn’t miss out we planned our climb up the hill so that we could explore the chora before enjoying the sunset. Timing the final climb to the summit was facilitated by a bit of loiter-time in one of the many pleasant bars.

Working on the basis that if the narrow street went up it was probably going in the right direction, we worked our way to the top and found a good rock to perch on. There were 40 or so other people with the same plan and so the peak got quite busy. We could see other vantage points similarly covered in holiday-makers also waiting for the sunset. It was worth the climb but I think that the sunset might have been even better on a clearer evening.

We spent 2 nights at Íos, always with one eye on the weather forecast because we were conscious that on our next leg we would need to head into the prevailing wind. However, the forecast for Thursday 26 July looked suitable, so we made plans for an early start.

Íos, Greece